Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. - Hebrews 2:14 (NLT)

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What truly makes something special? We encounter and experience many good things throughout life, but we don’t characterize all of them as “special.” For example, it’s highly unlikely that any of us would refer to the first time we ate pizza as a “special” moment in our lives. Most of us like pizza, but as great as a moment like that probably was, we wouldn’t say it was life-changing by any means.

What makes something special is the lasting impact it has on us. Throughout His life, Jesus was constantly performing miracles, teaching huge crowds, and doing all of the great and amazing things that He was sent to earth to do. And these should be celebrated! However, there were two defining moments in Jesus’s life that shaped the course of human history:

When He came to earth to be with us, and when He gave up His life on the cross for us.

We celebrate these days as Christmas and Easter, and while we are absolutely called to live out our mission by loving God and loving others 365 days a year, there is something truly special about this time of year. It’s the season when all of humanity recognizes the promise of God was finally fulfilled. The Messiah had really come.

Today, take some time before dinner to ask your family, or even yourself, “What makes Christmas special?”

All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). - Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)

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2020 has been a year unlike any other. Although there have been a lot of real challenges, the good news is you have made it! And I’m here to tell you that even in a season where so many things are being postponed or canceled, the celebration of Christmas is still ON and happening! While large family gatherings and sitting on Santa’s lap may be out of the picture this year, we still have the opportunity to celebrate the joy that Christmas brings. But what are we actually celebrating? It’s not the presents, or the Christmas movies, or cookies and hot chocolate, or any of the other typical things that come to mind when we envision the Christmas season in America. No, we are celebrating the fact that over 2000 years ago, God sent His Son to be with us. Jesus left the completely perfect Kingdom of God to begin the mission of saving all of humanity, and that is something that no situation, person, or yes, even virus, can ever take away. It wasn’t something He had to do, but it was something that He chose to do.

Emmanuel.

God with us.

For the first time ever, God was with us in the flesh, and the world was never the same again. Take some time today to pause and truly thank God for choosing to send His Son, Jesus, to change the world forever.